Musings from the Stress Less staff regarding the current state of stress in our lives and what we are or are not doing about it. Contributed by psychologists,exercise physiologists,dietitians,and just plain marketing folks.

Monday, July 30, 2018

The Looming Maladaptive Style

The way people think can make them vulnerable to anxiety

Some people are more vulnerable to anxiety than others are. One personal characteristic that makes people more vulnerable is having a looming maladaptive style. People with a looming maladaptive style tend to perceive potential threats as rapidly mounting, escalating, or approaching. Such a person might falsely believe that his or her significant other is about to end their relationship, for example. As part of a series of studies, researchers at George Mason University recently explored why people with a looming maladaptive style are especially vulnerable to anxiety.

What was the research about?

Across two studies, undergraduate students were presented with threatening words and pictures. The participants indicated their level of anxiety along with other information related to their reactions to the threatening words and pictures. They also responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the extent to which they have a looming maladaptive style.

The findings confirmed that people with a looming maladaptive style tend to be especially vulnerable to anxiety. Moreover, the present research provided an answer to the question of why a looming maladaptive style makes people more vulnerable to anxiety. They tend to be more vulnerable to anxiety because their tendency to perceive potential threats as rapidly mounting, escalating, or approaching makes them think in ways that are stressful. Specifically, they pay extra attention to the threatening aspects of what they encounter and they more easily remember the threatening aspects of what they encounter.

Why should it matter to me?

People who have difficulties with anxiety might have a looming maladaptive style, and if they do, may want to pay closer attention to whether the way in which they think about potential threats is contributing to their anxiety.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Perceptions of Physical Fitness

Believing one is physically fit is associated with feeling stress free

Most health conscious people today probably are aware that regular moderate exercise has many mental and physical health benefits, such as lower levels of stress. Recent research seems to suggest believing that one is physically fit may also be important. Unfortunately, the studies on which these conclusions are based have some problems that make clear interpretations impossible. Researchers at Santa Clara University and the Stanford University School of Medicine recently published the findings from a study aimed at clearing up the issue.

What was the research about?

Seventy-two faculty and staff of various ages were recruited from Santa Clara University to participate in the study. The participants engaged in two stressful tasks. One involved giving a brief speech, and the other involved reading the names of colors printed with ink that was a different color (e.g., the word red printed in green ink). Before, during, and after the stressful tasks, blood pressure and pulse rate were recorded and the participants responded to a questionnaire measuring calmness. The participants also responded to questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and perceived physical fitness and engaged in a treadmill activity that was used to measure actual physical fitness. Sex, height, and weight also were recorded.

The results showed that perceived physical fitness was associated with changes in systolic blood pressure and calmness throughout the course of the stress tasks, even after taking into account other factors that were associated (i.e., actual physical fitness, gender, height, and weight). Additionally, higher levels of perceived, but not actual, physical fitness were associated with less anxiety, less depression, and higher self-esteem. Thus, both actual and perceived physical fitness are important for stress relief.

Why should it matter to me?

People who are trying to manage their stress should not only work on becoming physically fit but also may want to consider thinking about whether they actually believe that they are physically fit.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Money!

Placing a lot of importance on money for
the wrong reasons may be harmful

Some people place a great deal of importance on money. Other people do not
seem to care too much about it. Regarding stress, and well-being in general,
who is worse off? Although studies have shown that placing a relatively high degree
of importance on money can be negatively associated with well-being, they have
not really considered the motives people have for making money. Researchers
from the University of Maryland recently published a study addressing this
issue.

What was the research about?

Across two studies, 266 business students and 145 entrepreneurs responded to
questionnaires measuring motives for making money, the relative importance of money
or financial goals (compared to other goals), and well-being. The results suggest
that placing a relatively high degree of importance on money may not
necessarily lead to less well-being. The motives people have for making money seem
to account for the negative association between the relative importance of
money and well-being. Specifically, the results suggest that placing a
relatively high degree of importance on money is negatively associated with
well-being for people who want to make money to show off, seek power, or
overcome self-doubt but not for people who do not want to make money for these
reasons.

Why should it matter to me?

People who place a relatively high degree of importance on money may want to
stop and think about why they want to make money because it may have a negative
impact on their well-being.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Stress and Long-Term Thinking

Stress can make you more likely to base
decisions on short-term, instead of long-term, consequences.

Sometimes in our lives we are forced to make choices that have good
immediate consequences but bad long-term consequences.For example, if you continuously stay up
late to work on projects at the last minute you finish the projects on time (a
good immediate consequence) but suffer from sleep deprivation over time (a bad
long-term consequence).Or you may sit
in an uncomfortable chair at work all day and avoid taking stretch breaks to
get more work done, only to feel very stiff and sore at the end of the
week.When under stress are we more
likely to make decisions based on their immediate or long-term
consequences?A researcher from Harvard
University explored how stress affects the way people make decisions with
positive short-term but negative long-term consequences.

What was the research about?

Across two studies, 32 Harvard University students viewed a slide show that
they controlled.To simulate a sense of
stress and negative emotion, some participants viewed very aversive pictures during
the slide show.Other participants only
saw neutral pictures during the slide show.Participants were told they would receive a certain amount of money for
each slide they viewed during the 10-minute slide show.Thus the more slides they advanced through
the more money they would make.Participants advanced to the next slide by pushing one of two buttons on
a control box.One button represented
“good immediate but bad long-term consequences” because it allowed participants
to quickly advance the next slide, but it also slowed down the advance of later
slides.The other button represented
“bad immediate but good long-term consequences” because it slowed down the
advance of the next slide but sped up the advance of later slides.Results showed that participants who were
stressed by viewing the aversive slides, earned less money than participants
who viewed the neutral slides.The
stressed participant’s also chose the “good immediate but bad long-term consequences”
button on the control box much more than the non-stressed participants.The second study found the same results
comparing a group of students who reported high stress levels because of
upcoming exams to a group who had low stress levels.

Why should it matter to me?

We all get stressed at times and may make decisions we end up regretting
down the road.To help avoid making
these kinds of decisions under stress, people need to take time to think
through the long-term consequences of their choices instead of exclusively
focusing on short-term consequences.This may help reduce stress levels in the long run, even if it does not
immediately impact them.

About Me

Since 1995, Stress Less® (www.stress-less.com) has been helping folks around the world to feel better and to get into control of their health, both mentally and physically .
The blog authors are various staff members and consultants who have a few things to say about the trends,products and programs in stress management.